Wall construction



July 20, 1965 w. DEGEN 3,195,311

WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 26. 1962 United States Patent O 3,195,311 WALL CGNSTRUCTION Wilhelm Degen, Zeppelinallee 89, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Filed Feb. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 175,422 2 Claims. (Cl. 5L-35) This invention relates to a method of constructing a coherent foundation wall as required for quay walls, excavation enclosures, supporting walls, cutoff walls for dikes, etc., where the said foundation wall consists of primary and secondary piles and is used for sealing or for load bearing for for both purposes.

It is well known that the most versatile proposals have been made in the past to solve the problem of constructing such sub-surface foundation walls consisting of pillars or piles. Generally a wall of this type is formed by driving piles into the ground in such a way that the piles `are arranged side by side or even interlace. This wall of piles is again subdivided into interlacing primary or major piles and secondary or intermediate piles, the line of primary piles being sealed -otf by the piles of the secondary type, operating as stopgaps and making the wall Water-tight in an appearance comparable to sheet piling. The primary piles usually carry the load; therefore, their cross-section is maintained even after the foundation wall has been completed. It is also customary to drill the piles used for such foundation walls; generally, the primary piles are drilled first and the secondary piles are drilled thereafter. However, methods are known where the secondary piles are made lirst and the primary piles are made thereafter. In all such construction methods, the main problem to be solved is to close the gap between any two piles driven into the ground at a short spacing, regardless of the drilling procedure. The difficulty in the solution of this problem lies in the fact that a pile driven into the ground will always deviate by a greater or lesser amount from the vertical. These deviations are generally equ-alized by cutting sections out of the secondary or stopgap piles; however, the dithculty and the cost of this procedure increases with the increasing setting stage of the concrete of those piles already prepared. Hence, the more the concrete has set, the greater will be the permanent deviation of the pile from the vertical. On the other hand, if the concrete of the secondary piles has not yet had time to set enough, it may be destroyed when the primary piles are manipulated.

Hence, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of constructing a water-tight foundation wall comprising primary and secondary piles, in which the cutting of hardened concrete is eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of driving piles into the ground so that a simple and tight sealing is obtained.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method where the piles are driven in place without the need of employing so-called locks, cages, or guides, the manipulation of which is a diiiculty in itself.

Finally it is an object of the invention to provide a method of constructing the said foundation wall in such a way that this wall may be used as an enclosure for excavations.

These objects are achieved by various features characteristic of the invention. The features may become apparent in a general description of the operation of the present invention that will be given below as an introduction to the description of a more speciiie embodiment of the invention when put to use in the construction of a foundation wall.

By the method in accordance with this invention, the holes for the secondary piles are drilled rst and are lled with aggregates to the concrete without any binding agent, however. When now the primaries are drilled, no diiculties can be experienced because it is no longer hardened concrete that has to be drilled, but only the aggregate. vThe indispensable deviation from the vertical is not increased as in the case of drilling, to a certain ex tent, hardened concrete. In one word, the ditiiculties previously presented by the secondary piles whenv making the primary piles are eliminated because the secondaries are not yet existent in the form of concrete when the primaries are provided. Consequently, previous difficulties affecting the tightening of the wall are likewise eliminated. The secondary piles are completed by lling or impregnating the aggregates by air-operated jarring of a similar procedure. The permeability of the said aggregates is almost always greater than that of the surrounding soil; this is a fact favoring the delimitation of the space to be filled or impregnated by grout or mortar. The junction between the piles is not subject to contamination in this method in accordance with the invention; hence, no defects can become effective in the junctions.-

The advantages of the method proposed by the present invention lie in the fact that no set concrete need be drilled and in the fact that the gap-stopping process employed to make the wall between `any two primary piles Watertight, is both simple and reliable.

In practical application of this method, it is of no consequence if the pile cross-sections are round or oval or have any other shape of their cross-section. This applies to the primary piles as well as to the secondaries.

Thus, for instance, the primary piles may consist of precast concrete members that are driven in place. 'I'hese precast wall members may preferably be made from prestressed reinforced concrete and are hollow, thus facilitating the transporting of such members to the construction site. Aside from this, the cross-section of the members may be chosen such that in the case of a high static load every wall member is sul'liciently strong so that no separate props or bracing members are required for the Wall members, the lower ends of which are mounted in ground. Hence, in such cases where the moment of resistance of sheet piling has heretofore been too small, the precast wall members constructed in accordance with the invention obviate the utilization of separate supporting and bracing members and in this manner contribute greatly to an unimpaired performance of the construction work. Since, in addition, a great moment of resist- .ance is nearly always connected with a high moment of inertia, this type of construction satisfies the requirements for substantially non-deformable walls for excavation as used on large underground construction sites in cities and towns. Where there is little space as for instance in narrow or otherwise limited lines yof streets, two foundation walls constructed according to the invention are driven into the ground without previously performing any excavation work. Thereafter, the soil between the walls is dug out and removed. In the case lof a subway tube the Walls may then remain in place for instance as side walls of the tube, so that only the bottom and the cover have to be provided for the tube.

In many cases it will also be possible to utilize the highgrade concrete wall of the excavation as external construction wall of the structure, as in the case of underground railways. Thus, construction cost and construction time may be saved and, above all, less space is required for the excavation, which is of great importance to municipal underground construction because of the branched underground distribution networks and line systems.

Further details yof this invention pertain to the particular construction and arrangement of the individual parts thereof. It will be understood that various modifications may be made in the structure .as disclosed provided such modifications come within Ythe spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

For a detailedv description of this invention reference: is now made to the following specification and to the` drawing attached wherein like numerals refer to the samek parts throughout the embodiment, and in which FIG. 1 shows a foundationA wall constructed according to the invention wherein the primary piles have a cir-` In thezdrawing, all secondary piles 2, 4 and 6 are provided.

with 'holeswwhich are filled up with aggregates. Of the primary piles, piles 1 and 3 are alreadyconstructed and reinforced with steel bars 7. Similarly, secondary'pile 2 is alreadyfilled and impregnated withcement grout or cement mortar which was inserted into the pile throughj tubes 8. Secondary piles 4 and 6 have holes which. are drilledrand tilled with aggregates less bindingV agent.

According to the invention, secondary piles 2,4 and 61 are arranged against primary piles 1, 3 and 5 exposed to Y the static excess load, the arrangementbeing such that thercenter lines of secondary piles 2, 4 and 6 extend parallel to lines connecting the centers of reinforced piles 1,

3, and 5 at that exposed side. In this manner, the sec-- ondary piles are pressed against the primary piles under the action :of the static pressure of the water or soil,I thus preventing the formation of spaces between the primary and secondary piles.

According to another embodiment, the precast primary l wall members may be utilized as outer construction wall of the structure to be erected in the trench. In such a case, after excavation of the trench, joints 9 between the wall members are filled preferably with a vspecial joint packing to form a continuous, smooth, water-tight construction wall.

What is claimed is: 1. In a process of constructing a foundation wall formed of piles the steps of.:

(a) firstly sinking a plurality of spaced Yboreholes into the earth, v

(b) secondly filling said boreholes with aggregates,- (c)' thirdly and thereafter, placing prefabricated piles between adjacent spaced lled boreholes, said piles having a cross sectional profile larger than the space between adjacent filled boreholes, whereby'said piles extend into said filled boreholes, and (d) finally, cementing said aggregates by deposition of cement mix in said boreholes. l 2. Process as dened andfclaimedV in claimV 1 wherein the boreholes are `arranged at that side of the piles exposed to the static excess load, the arrangement being such that the center lines of said boreholes. extend parallel to and remote from the centers of said'piles at said exposed side. Y

References Cited yby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,474,195V ll/23 Langworthy k61-59 X 1,578,861` 3/26 Squire 61-49 2,442,605 6/48 `lourtlain i 615r3.66 2,555,359 6/51 Montague 61--5`3.88 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,072,071 3/54 France.

CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

JACOB SHAPIRO, JACOB L. NACKENOFF,

y Y Examiners. 

1. IN A PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING A FOUNDATION WALL FORMED OF PILES THE STEPS OF: (A) FIRSTLY SINKING A PLURALITY OF SPACED BOREHOLES INTO THE EARTH, (B) SECONDLY FILLING SAID BOREHOLES WITH AGGREGATES, (C) THIRDLY AND THEREAFTER, PLACING PREFABRICATED PILES BETWEEN ADJACENT SPACED FILLED BOREHOLES, SAID PILES HAVING A CROSS SECTIONAL PROFILE LARGER THAN THE SPACE BETWEEN ADJACENT FILLED BOREHOLES, WHEREBY SAID PILES EXTEND INTO SAID FILLED BOREHOLES, AND (D) FINALLY, CEMENTING SAID AGGREGATES BY DEPOSITION OF CEMENT MIX IN SAID BOREHOLES. 